William Peter Blatty "The Exorcist" Signed First Edition Proof w/COA, Custom Tray-case [Near Fine]

A literary treasure for the discerning collector.

This one-of-a-kind collectible softcover proof of The Exorcist has been personally signed by William Peter Blatty directly onto the title page.

"The power of Christ compels you!" When originally published in 1971, The Exorcist became not only a bestselling literary phenomenon, but one of the most frightening and controversial novels ever written. When the author adapted his book to the screen two years later, it then became one of the most terrifying movies ever made.

New York. Harper & Row 1971. William Peter Blatty "The Exorcist" Advance Reading Copy. Softcover binding. "FIRST EDITION" as stated on the copyright page. Signed First Edition. Personally autographed by William Peter Blatty directly onto the title page of the book.. A rare collector's edition. Includes Certificate of Authenticity as a letter of assurance by John Anthony Miller, the original owner of the Phantom Bookshop in California who witnessed the autograph in 1996. This book is presented on a consignment basis.



About

Blatty fictionalized the true story of a child's demonic possession in the 1940s. The deceptively simple story focuses on Regan, the 11-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C.; the child apparently is possessed by an ancient demon. It's up to a small group of overwhelmed yet determined humans to somehow rescue Regan from this unspeakable fate. Purposefully raw and profane, this novel still has the extraordinary ability to literally shock us into forgetting that it is "just a story." The Exorcist remains a truly unforgettable reading experience.

Background

The Exorcist is a horror novel written by William Peter Blatty. It is based on a supposedly genuine 1949 exorcism Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit and Catholic school. The exorcism was partially performed in both Cottage City, Maryland and Bel-Nor, Missouri. Several area newspapers reported on a speech a minister gave to an amateur parapsychologysociety, in which he claimed to have exorcised a demon from a thirteen-year-old boy named Robbie, and that the ordeal lasted a little more than six weeks, ending on April 19, 1949.

Film Adaptation

The novel was made into a successful Academy Award-winning horror film in 1973, with the screenplay written by Blatty. The filmoriginally contained several key sequences from the novel, which were cut prior to release by director Friedkin over Blatty's protests. The deleted scenes, and some new digital effects, were inserted into the re-release subtitled "The Version You've Never Seen" in 2000.

Trivia

While he was writing the novel, William Peter Blatty was collecting unemployment benefits.

William Peter Blatty based the character of Chris MacNeil on his good friend Shirley MacLaine. Prior to the 1973 production, MacLaine attempted to have a movie made of Blatty's novel and interested Lew Grade in backing the project, but the plans fell through. According to one of Blatty's subsequent books describing the making of the film, MacLaine's adopted daughter Sachiko was the subject of curiosity and ostracism after the film's release, as it was at once apparent that Chris was meant to be MacLaine, and Sachiko's classmates and even some teachers assumed that Sachiko had been possessed and had perhaps committed the murders and sexual atrocities described in the book. According to Mark Kermode, the photo of the girl on the cover of the novel is MacLaine's daughter.

According to Rev. Father William O'Malley (who played Father Joseph Dyer in the film), the events depicted in the film are approximately 80% true. He claims the big discrepancies between the movie and case it was inspired by were: it was a boy who was possessed, not a girl; the possession did not occur in Georgetown, but just outside DC in Cottage City, MD. In this case, the boy's head did not rotate 180 degrees, though he claims that nearly everything else in the movie actually occurred. The name of the boy who was subject of the "true" exorcism that inspired Blatty's novel was Ronald Hunkeler. After he was "cured" he went on to attend Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, graduating in 1954. He was later a scientist with NASA. He refuses all interviews regarding his exorcism. At last account, he was rumored to be living in Laurel, MD.

Author William Peter Blatty once won $10,000 on the Groucho Marxtelevision show "You Bet Your Life" (1950). When Groucho asked what he planned to do with the money, he said he planned to take some time off to "work on a novel." This was the result. Many years later, Blatty followed the first sequel of the film with a novel, Legion. The movie Exorcist III was based on this novel and directed by Blatty.